Murders

3006 reads

BILOXI MURDERS

1842

Thomas Martin, a baker, died after his jugular vein was slashed with a razor by W. Woodhall, his father-in-law. Mr. Woodhall was captured and sent to Bay St. Louis on the steamer Monmouth.(The Daily Picyaune, September 10, 1842, p. 2)

1851

Bartolo San Andro, a Spaniard called Antonio, was slain on Biloxi beach on the night of July 15th with a sword cane. His alleged killer was an Italian man who was later arrested at Bay St. Louis and held for a $1000 bail.(The Daily Picayune, July 21, 1851, p. 1)

1896

Jules Soule Murder

Jules Paul Soule (1854-1896) was born at New Orleans the son of Pierre Soule (1801-1870) and Henrietta Armantine Mercier, both natives of France. Prior to 1880, Jules Soule had married Hortense Soule (1861-1920+), a native of Georgia. They were the parents of Arthur J. Soule (1882-1920+); Mamie Soule (b. 1885); Bertha Soule (b. 1888); James B. Soule (b. 1889); and Julius Soule (b. 1896). Arthur J. Soule was born in Georgia, while Mamie, Bertha, and James B. Soule were natives of Texas. Julius Soule was born in Mississippi, probably Ocean Springs.

Enjoyed the story of the murder of Jules Paul Soulé, and found out a fewthings I did not know, such as his support of a baseball team. Jules Paulwas born ca. 1854 in the town of Castillion-en-Courserans in the Pyreneesmountains. His father was Bernard Dominique Jules Soulé. The Pierre Souléwho married Henrietta Armantine Mercier was the great uncle of Jules Paul,the uncle of his father Bernard Dominique Jules, and the brother of his grandfather Jean Baptiste-August Soulé. Pierre Soulé was a US Senator fromLouisiana and US Ambassador to Spain 1853-1855. He also funded the educationof several of his extended family members, such as his niece CatherineHortense Soulé. I just wanted to offer some additional information to you.Jules Paul is my great-grandfather, through his son James Bryant, and hisdaughter Mable Claire Soulé, my mother. We have additional information onthis family as we have researching them for decades.[e-mail from from Jim Williams(jim@gardenview.us) on August 5, 2015]

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Jules Soule and family arrived at Ocean Springs in . Here he commenced The Ocean Springs Wave-published for 10 months in 1896 by Arthur Soule and Jules Soule, editor. Two issues (1896) available at Mississippi Department of Archives and History and on microfilm at the Pascagoula Public Library.

Baseball team

While domiciled at Ocean Springs, Jules Soule sponsored the local baseball nine. The new ball park at Ocean Springs was formally opened in June 1896 with the local squad playing Scranton. The battery from the Lopez team of Biloxi, Gaston Henderson and Adolph Abbley, led the Ocean Springs team to victory by a score of 13-8. Henderson fanned 18 batters.(The Biloxi Herald, June 27, 1896, p. 8)

Biloxi, Mississippi

In 1896, Jules Soule became editor of the Biloxi Review when H.F. Evans' policy of attacking The Biloxi Herald, his competitor, and also Biloxi's board of aldermen resulted in his dismissal and taking editorial control of The Gulfport Southward in August 1897. Captain John H. Miller was editor of The Biloxi Herald at this time and Mr. Soule contined the Evans' policy of attacking rivals in his Biloxi Review.(The Biloxi Herald, August 7, 1897, p. 1)

Civil Suit

On September 9, 1896, Lazaro Lopez, William Gorenflo, Daniel A. Nash, John C. Bradford, Raymond Caillavet and J.B. Lemon, Aldermen of the City of Biloxi filed a libel suit in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi against H.S. Evans, editor of the Biloxi Review and local correspondent for the Daily Picayune, and the following stockholders of the journal: Edward Glennan, Louis E. Gill, Charles Redding, W.P. Henley, and E.C. Joullian. The litagation alleged that an editorial by Mr. Evans damaged the character of these well known Biloxi citizens. The plaintiffs were seeking $20,000 in damages from the defendants.(The Biloxi Herald, September 12, 1896, p. 1)

After several articles attacking his character and reputation, Captain Miller became ired to the point that he shot and mortally wounded Jules Soule, editor of The Biloxi Review on December 7th, 1896.(The Biloxi Herald, December 12, 1896, p. 8)

Captain Miller was acquitted of his crime against Soule by a jury in late June 1897. The innocent verdict was realised in only five minutes. Miller had many prominent gentlemen from other areas of Mississippi testify to his good character and moral standing.(The Biloxi Herald ,July 10, 1897)

Captain John H. Miller

John Henry Miller (1847-1928) born December 14, 1847 at Paulding, Jasper County, Mississippi. During the Civil War, he enlisted in ‘The Jasper Grays’, Company F of the 16th Mississippi Regiment serving three year as a Lieutenant Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Returning from the conflict, he married Alice Sophie Miller (1852-1916) circa 1871, and they were childless. During and post-Reconstruction, J.H. Miller was a newspaper man. (The Biloxi Daily Herald, 1902, p. 52)

Captain John H. Miller (1847-1928) assumed editorial control ofThe Biloxi Herald on October 31, 1896 from George W. Wilkes (1854-1915). Captain Miller left the journal on May 1, 1898 when the co-partnership, G.W. Wilkes & Company, was dissolved leaving G.W. Wiles sole owner of The Biloxi Herald.(The Biloxi Herald, June 11, 1898, p. 1 and The Daily Herald, April 23, 1928, p. 2)

In 1900, at Biloxi, the Millers lived on Front Street near the Carraway family. John H. Miller was manager of the Biloxi Real Estate and Loan Agency and was also on the board of trustees of the Industrial Institute and College at Columbus, Mississippi. Alice S. Miller expired at Biloxi on October 10, 1916. He died April 21, 1928.(1900 Harrison County, Mississippi Federal Census )

_______________________________________

FLASHBACK

Murella Hebert Powell

[published in The Sun Herald, July 27, 2014, p. F-6]

This Flashback story reflects a time when a man's honor and integrity were considered his most precious assets, and it was more or less expected that he protect those assets in a certain way.

The story involves a newspaper controversy between the Biloxi Herald, founded in 1884, and a short-lived newspaper called the Biloxi Review. The controversy ended in manslaughter.

The weekly Biloxi Review made its debut on Aug. 1, 1896, under the editorship of H.F. Evans. From the beginning, the Review practiced what was called "cut-throat competition" by launching attacks against the Herald and Biloxi's board of aldermen. The aldermen filed a libel lawsuit against the Review in September 1896 and won. The Review replaced Evans with Joules Soule, who continued Evans' same policies.

In October 1896, Capt. J.H. Miller, pictured here in 1902, of the Tupelo Journal, became the Biloxi Herald's new editor. Miller had a reputation throughout the state as a man of great integrity. About then, the Herald's owner, G.W. Wilkes, borrowed $500 from the Bank of Biloxi for new office equipment. He offered his own property and the signatures of seafood pioneers L. Lopez and W.H.K. Dukate as securities.

This opened a floodgate of insinuations by Soule of financial wrongdoing against the Biloxi Herald, and particularly upon Miller. His defamation and "scurrilous attacks" on Miller was such that the Gulf Coast Progress newspaper of Bay St. Louis stated that "no honorable or brave man could wear the stigma of Soule's denunciation and hold his head up among gentlemen."

Review issues teemed with vicious attacks on Miller. Finally, Miller avenged himself by firing a mortal shot at Soule in downtown Biloxi on Dec. 3, 1896. During his September 1897 trial for manslaughter, witnesses from along the Coast and throughout the state, including a judge from the state capital, appeared in Miller's favor. The jury was out for only 5 minutes. The verdict? Not guilty! Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/26/5715719/a-newspaper-war-that-went-too.html#storylink=cpy

REFERENCES:

The Biloxi Daily Herald, Business and Professional Men, (The Biloxi Daily Herald: Biloxi, Mississippi-1902).

Regina Hines Ellison, Ocean Springs, 1892, (Lewis Printing

The Biloxi Herald, “The Ocean Wave will commence about February 1st”, January 25, 1896.

The Biloxi Herald, “Safe hits”, June 27, 1896.

The Biloxi Herald, “A heavy suit for libel”, September 12, 1896.

The Biloxi Herald, “An echo of the Ocean Springs incident”, October 3, 1896.

The Sun Herald,'Flashback'-"A newspaper war that went to far", July 27, 2014, p. F-6.

__________________________________________________________

1897

Parkhurst Murders

Caroline F. ‘Carrie’ Boardman(1832-1897) acquires Section 20, T7S-R9W from Jacob Elmer who once had a saw mill here. Miss Boardmanmarries John Stevenson Parkhurst (1827-1897) in January 1894. The area now the Oak Park Subdivision becomes known as Parkhurst Point. The Parkhursts are murdered on October 21, 1897 in their Back Bay home and their bodies and domicile burned by the killer.(The Biloxi Herald, October 23, 1897 and October 30, 1897)

Harry G. Gibson(1870-1898), probably a native of New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana, was indicted on January 17, 1898 by a grand jury of the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi. He was found guilty by jury of his peers on January 29, 1898.(The Biloxi Herald, January 22, 1898)

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the guilty verdict of the Circuit Court and fixed Monday, June 30, 1898 as the date for his execution.(The Biloxi Herald, May 14, 1898, p. 8)

Harry G. Gibson was hanged at Mississippi City on July 16, 1898 for the murder of John S. Parkhurst (1827-1897) and Caroline F. ‘Carrie’ Boardman Parkhurst (1832-1897). He was the first person ever legally killed for a crime in Harrison County, Mississippi.(The Biloxi Herald, July 16, 1898)

The Parkhurst property was sold to Theo P. Dulion, a Biloxi merchant, on August 29, 1899 for $1600 by Stephen L. Parkhurst and Emma McMeekin, sole heirs of J.S. Parkhurst.[Harrison Co., Mississippi Land Deed Bk. 42, p.516]

REFERENCES:

The Biloxi Herald, “Local Happenings”, January 27, 1894.

The Biloxi Herald, “A Visitor”, January 11, 1896.

The Biloxi Herald, “Latest City News”, February 20, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald, “A Fiend’s act”, October 23, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald, “The Late Horror”, October 30, 1897.

The Biloxi Herald, “Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Parkhurst”, January 15, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Circuit Court”, January 22, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Found guilty”, January 29, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Harry G. Gibson again”, April 2, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Gibson’s doom sealed”, May 14, 1898.

The Indiana State Journal, “Gibson believes that he is doomed”, June 15, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “Gibson executed”, July 16, 1898.

The Biloxi Herald, “County Expenses”, September 8, 1898.

______________________________________________

The Veronica Mutiny and Trial

In August 1902, while at Ship Island, a very special event occurred in the life of Antoine Bellande. It concerned a ship mutiny. Ernest Desporte Jr. told me this tale when I was a teenager. Ernest Desporte Jr. (1888-1977) was a native of Biloxi and lifelong resident. He had a remarkable memory and enjoyed telling stories of Biloxi's early history. He also was a writer of local history and genealogy sometimes using the nom de plume, Old Timer. When I met Mr. Desporte about 1960, he was an elderly septuagenarian gentleman and of keen wit. His father, Ernest Desporte Sr.(1853-1931), had been a bar pilot and harbor master at Ship Island at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Captains Bellande and Desporte served together as fellow pilots guiding blue water barks, brigs, schooners, and steamers across the Ship Island Bar to safe anchorage at Ship Island Harbor. After 1902, they would sail these large vessels seeking Mississippi longleaf pine for the world export market into the new harbor at Gulfport.

The result of my meeting with Ernest Desporte was new knowledge about the life of Antoine Bellande. The most intriguing information was the reference to a mutiny. Desporte wrote the following for me: When Gulfport became a port about 1898, Captain Bellande was one of the pilots, piloting vessels through the Gulfport Channel into the harbor at Gulfport. On one occasion he piloted a vessel from Gulfport harbor to the open Gulf of Mexico. This vessel was bound for England, but the crew mutinied on the high seas. The crew was captured and tried in England. As Captain Bellande was the last man to see the captain and crew, he was a witness in the trial of the crew in the Royal Court of England.

Without a date for the alleged mutiny, I was never able to corroborate the tale of Captain Desporte. In the fall of 1989, I was in the history and genealogy section of the Biloxi Public Library waiting to talk to Murella Powell, archivist and historian. She was on the telephone, and I heard her speak to someone of "the mutiny at Ship Island". Immediately I thought of the account of Desporte. When she became available, I related my story, and she shared her very interesting knowledge of the subject. She had been contacted by a Canadian novelist, Bruce Wishart, who was writing a book about an episode in maritime history known as the Veronica Mutiny. Since the event commenced at Ship Island, he needed background data on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to write his novel. Murella was doing basic research for him especially concerning Ship Island.

I contacted Bruce Wishart at his residence in Brandon, Manitoba. From him I learned the details of the mutiny and with my knowledge of Captain Bellande incorporated these facts into my rendering of the story. With this background knowledge, I now present the reader the Veronica Mutiny:

At a time when most men his age had long retired or passed on, Captain Antoine Bellande and Inspector Duckworth of Scotland Yard, England were boarding an L&N train on April 15, 1903, at Biloxi. Their destination was Liverpool, England via New York where they would board the steamer, Irenia. The catalyst for this adventure had been the three-masted barque, Veronica, out of St. John, New Brunswick. The Veronica had sailed into Gulf waters south of Ship Island in August of 1902.

Captain Bellande had come to Mississippi from Marseille, France in 1851, at the age of twenty-two years. His family in France had been caulkers in a local shipyard, and the ways of the sea were natural to this young French immigrant. He had learned well the waters of the Gulf of Mexico while navigating his trading schooner the, John Randolph, to Cuba for sugar and tobacco. Occasionally, he would transport longleaf pine to Galveston and New Orleans. His maritime lore was so widely acclaimed that during the Civil War, Admiral David Farragut utilized his services for the Union Navy. His Civil War records indicate he was an acting ensign and pilot, one of only two in the entire Navy.

Antoine Bellande served the Union well. He was the pilot aboard the USS Monongahela at the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, when it valiantly rammed the CSS Tennessee. After the War, Bellande settled at Back Bay (D'Iberville), and began a family with Marie Harvey (1840-1894). They moved to 254 Reynoir Street about 1882, the year he became a Ship Island bar pilot.

As Captain Bellande rode the pilot boat out to meet the incoming Veronica south of the Ship Island bar that late summer day in 1902, I can only speculate on his state of mind. In 1894, his wife had died at Biloxi. He married an Ocean Springs lady, Mary Catchot (1860-1931), in 1896. She was the daughter of Antonio Catchot (1826-1885), a Spanish immigrant, from the Balearic Island of Menorca, and Elizabeth Hoffen (1838-1916), a German immigrant from Bremen. Antoine and Mary Catchot Bellande resided on Jackson Avenue in Ocean Springs across from the St. Alphonsus Church where a son, Edward Antoine (1897-1976), was born in 1897 to the newly weds. He was sixty-seven years of age and she thirty-seven at the time of Edward's delivery.

When Captain Bellande boarded the Veronica, he met Captain Alexander Shaw, the master of the 1167 ton vessel which was loaded during September with Mississippi lumber for Montevideo, Uruguay. The heavily laden vessel waited for a high tide and was towed across the Ship Island bar on October 11, 1902, into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

While at sea, the four German crewmen of the Veronica became upset with their Anglo-Saxon shipmates. While off the northeast coast of Brazil, they murdered Captain Shaw and the crew, and set the ship afire. In December 1902, the mutineers landed on the small island of Tuotoia which forms a part of the bar at the mouth of the Rio Parnaiba in northeastern Brazil. They were rescued by the SS Brunswick in mid-January 1903.

The German seamen made a fatal mistake by bringing the ship's cook Moses Thomas, a Negro, with them. On the way to England, Thomas related the tale of horror aboard the Veronica to Captain Browne. After the Brunswick reached Liverpool in late January, three of the alleged murderers were incarcerated until the trial which commenced on May 12, 1903, at the Liverpool Assizes. The fourth seaman, a youth, was given mercy.

Since Antoine Bellande was the last person to see the crew of the Veronica alive at Ship Island, he was called to testify at the trial in Liverpool. Before his departure for England with Inspector Duckworth who had been sent to Biloxi by Scotland Yard to investigate the local scene, an article of interest was printed in The Biloxi Daily Herald on April 15, 1903:

The sailor boys are very anxious concerning the visit of pilot, Antoine Bellande, to Liverpool, for they say he has never served time in the French army, and if the frog eaters in the Old World hear of his being in Europe, they fear in some manner they will get possession of him and force him to mark time and carry a gun to the great loss of the sailor craft of these waters. It is said that John Brasellman, of Dejean & Mitchell's, and John Lyons, boarding officer at Ship Island, will also be induced to go to England on the same errand.

The sworn testimony of Captain Antoine Bellande taken from The Trial of Gustav Rau, Otto Monsson, and Willem Smith: The "Veronica" Trial by Professor G.W. Keeton and John Cameron went as follows:

Antoine Bellande, sworn, examined by Mr. F.E. Smith.

I am a port pilot at Ship Island and Biloxi, and I live at Ocean Springs, four miles from Biloxi. I believe the Veronica arrived at Ship Island in ballast last August. Captain Alick Shaw was in command. She lay in quarantine for something like 15 days. I was on board during the quarantine, and was put in quarantine five days myself. I do not exactly remember either the first or second mates' names. I knew the men well, but not their names.

Tell me whether either or any or none of these men in the dock were on board then?

The middle one (Monsson) was on board when I was in quarantine. I don't know the others. I noticed nothing in particular going on on board the vessel when I was there. Captain Shaw could not hear very well; he was a little deaf.

Do you remember going on board the Veronica to take her out?

Yes, that was in October. At that time her crew consisted of twelve all told-there was Captain Shaw, the first mate and the second mate. I cannot remember the names of the other members of the crew as there were so many vessels going about. There was a man named Moses Thomas-he was the cook.

Will you look at that paper and tell us whether you saw any of those signatures made?

Yes, Monsson. I saw Thomas the cook signing. The captain of the tugboat was with me and Captain Shaw.

On what sort of terms seemed the officers to be with the crew?

They seemed to be all very well, all satisfied; I never heard anything.

Cross-examined by Mr. Maxwell for Rau.

Your only duty on board was to take the ship out to sea?

Yes.

You had nothing to do with the crew yourself?

No, only when I wanted to get underway.

Out of all those names you only saw Thomas the cook sign?

He signed, yes.

Cross-examined by Mr. Aggs for Smith. You brought the Veronica in when she came in ballast?

Yes.

Do you remember this man Monsson on board?

Yes.

Do you remember anybody else? Do you remember Rau being on board?

Yes.

When she came in who were chief officer and second officer?

Mr. Shaw was the captain; the first mate was a young man.

What I want to know is, was the same first mate and second mate that went out in her as came in with her when she came in with ballast?

Yes.

You cannot tell me the name of the first mate, but you say he was a young man. What was his height-tall or short?

He was a young man with a moustache, about the same height as me-rather short, I think.

Can you tell me anything about the course the Veronica would take in order to get to Monte Video leaving Ship Island-would she go due east?

About E.S.E.

How far east would she go before she turned down south?

She would have to go to the Strait of Florida.

Would she have to go farther east after she went through the Strait?

She would go through the Strait and keep east.

Can you tell whereabouts that part of the ocean called the Doldrums is?

No.

Can you tell whether vessels get into a part of the ocean where there are contrary winds and calms sometimes?

It happens at sea that there are calms and so on.

Is there a part of the ocean in which they are more frequent than other parts?

I do not know.

What is the time of a voyage from Ship Island to Monte Video?

Between 60 and 70 days.

Did you not say when you gave your evidence before that the length of the voyage for a sailing ship is from 43 to 80 days?

From Monte Video, yes. It is longer from Ship Island to Monte Video.

You would agree that it would not as a rule take more than 70 days?

From 60 to 70 days, although with a fair wind it might be shorter.

You spoke also as to the provisions, which were taken on board this boat. Do you know anything about that?

-Not very well. They took provisions, but I cannot say how much.

Can you tell me, would a captain as a rule take about 60 or 70 days' provisions with him for this voyage?

-Generally it is a rule to take double the provisions to come back with.

Would he not be able to get fresh provisions at Monte Video?

-He would get meat and flour, but would buy nothing else because it is too dear.

Re-examined by Mr. F.E. Smith.

Did you notice while you were on board the vessel what the name of the firm was that was supplying the provisions for the Veronica?

Yes, the DeJean & Mitchell Company. They are a good firm.

Have you made the voyage from Ship Island to Monte Video? If I gave you this chart (chart shown to witness) could you mark out the course in pencil a sailing vessel would take to go from Ship Island to Monte Video?

No, I could not do it.

The Veronica Trial ended on May 14th, 1903. Guilty was the verdict rendered by the jury against all three defendants. Two were hanged at Walton Gaol outside of Liverpool while the third was given penal servitude for life. Captain Bellande returned to America from Liverpool, England aboard the Campania and landed at New York City on May 23, 1903. At Biloxi, he continued his service in the Ship Island and Gulfport Pilots Association.

___________________________________________________________________

1914

Ora Rawls

Ora Rawls, Pascagoula, Mississippi resident, was shot and killed at Desporte's Wharf on October 6, 1914 by Alcana B. Green (1882-1930) of Denton, Texas. Green claimed taunting and self-defense. The two men were on the crew of the schooner, Nellie L., run by Captain George Seymour.(The Daily Herald, October 7, 1914, p. 1)

___________________________________________________________________

1922

Walter Roche Richter

Walter R. Richter (1890-1922), 31 years, who was shot down by Ben Bolton (1897-1957), son of Nat Bolton on Sunday night at 10:30 and who suffered intensely during the time he lived at the Biloxi City Hospital, died at that institution this morning at 5:30 o'clock. It was stated that Mr. Richter could hardly survive the wound which penetrated the intestines. This is said to have been the second shot fired at him as he attempted to leave a building in which he and several other Biloxians were visiting for just a few moments, while out for a ride during the evening.

Hundreds of interested persons anxiously inquired about Mr. Richter all during Monday, indicating that feeling for him as one of the best young men of city. Not only did they make inquiry at the hospital, where he was carried by Officers George Mon and Alonzo Gabrich immediately after the shooting, but the question was passed along the streets as to how he was progressing. The hospital was visited by numerous persons who went to inquire and offer their assistance if it need be, but here he received every care during his last moments by medical aid and attending loved ones.

Bolton, who was given a hearing yesterday afternoon on a charge of shooting with intent to kill, will be brought back to Biloxi. The affidavit against him will now be changed to murder and he will be given another hearing and bound over to await the Harrison County grand jury without benefit of bond.

Walter Richter is survived by his wife , a little daughter, a father, W. H. Richter, of New Orleans, two sisters, Mrs. H. J. Gillen, of Biloxi and Mrs. Arthur Chester, of Montgomery, Ala., and two brothers, Alfred Richter and Bernie Richter, both of Biloxi. He was a member of the Biloxi Lodge of Elks, Knights of Columbus West End Fire Company and other organizations, whose members will attend the funeral in a body. He leaves many friends among Biloxians. He was a member of the Church of the Nativity under whose auspices he will be buried, the funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock from the late residence on Bohn street, with interment in the Biloxi cemetery.(The Daily Herald, June 6, 1922, p. 1)

Ben Bolton was found "Not Guilty" in the murder of Walter Richter. His defense attorney moved the jury to tears in his closing statements. The key statement being that "Bolton had been threatened by the deceased and that he had reason to believe that his life was in danger when the deceased was said to have arisen from the chair prior to the shooting".(The Daily Herald, December 21, 1922, p. 1)

Leola Ridcourt, Biloxi negress, was charged with stabbing to death Maggie Hutchinson, negress, also of Biloxi at an Elmer Street house. She pleaded self-defense as the victim was alleged to have advanced on her with an ice pick.(The Daily Herald, and April 22, 1927, p. 1 and April 27, 1927, p. 8)

Edna Johnson Longinotti

Edna Mae Johnson was born at Ocean Springs, Mississippi in February 1891 to John E. Johnson (1859-1921) and Ella Felicia Pons (1868-1910). She married Joseph R. Longinotti Jr. (1882-1968), the son of Joseph Longinotti (1846-1923) and Clotilda Longinotti (1859-1936) of Hot Springs, Arkansas, on September 29, 1909 at Nativity BVM Catholic Church at Biloxi, Mississippi.

Edna and Joseph R. Longinotti Jr. made their home at Hot Springs, Arkansas where he was in the hotel business. They were the parents of a daughter, Marjorie Longinotti.

Edna was killed on August 13, 1927 at Biloxi, Mississippi by her lover, Sam Davis, of Little Rock, Arkansas. She had been divorced from Joseph Longinotti prior to her demise.

Edna Mae was survived by Miss Emma Johnson, her aunt in Biloxi; Louis O. Johnson, an uncle, at Biloxi; Mrs. August Dorries, another aunt of Memphis, Tennessee.

The O'Keefe Funeral Parlors of Biloxi directed the Longinotti funeral with services at Nativity BVM Catholic Church in Biloxi. Committal followed in Bellande Cemetery at Ocean Springs.

Frank Anderson (1881-1933) was murdered on April 16, 1933 in the doorway of the Terry Apartment house at 120 East Water Street. The only suspect was Julius [Jules] Sablich (18-19), who also had the alais 'Zudie Hightower'. Mr. Anderson was born in Scotland and made his livelihood at Biloxi as a bookkeeper. Although Jules Sablich was acquitted of the crime by a jury in June 1934, the State presented evidence that this could have been a crime of passion. Frank Anderson was dating Mrs. Edwina Case, nee Edwina Lynd (1891-1973), and the widow or divorcee of Mr. Case. She was with Frank Anderson on Water Street when he was slain. The State alluded that Mr. Sablich had shown affection towards Mrs. Case and had been rejected. Mrs. Case later married Fred G. Klein (1903-1978).

In his defense, Jules Sablich had 14 witnesses testify that he present at a family party at the time of the murder. In June 1934, the jury convined and adjucated him innocence of slaying Mr. Anderson.

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, 'Deputy Sheriff is charged with murder in slaying of Biloxian at rooming house', April 17, 1933.

The Daily Herald, 'Sablich trial delayed until next Monday', June 22, 1933.

Frederick Julian Werkhoven (1900-1934) was born October 12, 1900 at Memphis, Tennessee. He was shot and killed by Roger Joseph D'Aquin (1891-1966) with a double barrel, 20 gauge shotgun at his place of business on Main Street on March 25, 1934.

Roger J. D'Aquin was a native of New Orleans and the husband of Mary Sherry (1897-1983). Mr. Werkhoven was married to Beulah Sherry (1905-1977), the sister of Mrs. D'Aquin. Roger was an US Navy veteran of World War I and had sought medical help from the Biloxi VA Hospital for his 'nervous' condition. He was found not guilty for the muder of Werkhoven in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi in late June 1934.

Roger J. D'Aquin expired at New Orleans on January 20, 1966. His corporal remains were interred in the Metairie Cemetery.

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, Argument is climaxed by fatal shot', March 26, 1934.

Eddie [Edia Joseph] Longon (1908-1959) killed [Avis] Alves [sic] Romero (1915-1941), son of Ophelia Vincent Romero Dronet (1892-1955), in the Mavar Camps on February 12, 1941. Romero entered the Longon house in a drunken state and frightened and cursed Mr. and Mrs. Longon and their five young children. Eddie Longon avered self-defense of his family after he repeatly struck Mr. Romero in his head with a hammer until he died from the blows.

Vernell Reid Thompson (1917-1942), native of Purvis, Mississippi and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Seaborn Reid, was shot on a pier on Back Bay on July 17, 1942. She died in the Biloxi Hospital from her wounds August 9, 1942. William 'Buster' K. Thompson (1913-1989), her spouse, admitted shooting Vernell to Deputy Sheriff Laz Quave. No further information.(The Daily Herald, August 10, 1942, p. 9)

John Peter Rabito (1891-1947) was born at New Olreans, the son of Anthony Rabito (1858-1931) and Lena DiNapoli Rabito (1870-1965), both natives of Contessa Entellina, Palermo, Sicily. he was murdered in the early morning of August 1947 at Biloxi, Mississippi.

Thomas Joseph Boyle Jr. (1897-1950) was born at New Orleans on January 20, 1897 to Thomas J. Boyle Sr. (1860-1909) and Emily Theresa Schneider (1861-1949). He married Joyce Christina Staiger (1897-1973), the daughter of John Adam Staiger (1857-1937) and Marie Magdalena Seifer (1878-1916) at New Orleans on January 3, 1918. They were the parents of Joyce Gretchen Boyle (1919-2004) who married Peter Dombourian (1920-1992).

Thomas J. Boyle Jr. made his livelihood at New Orleans initially as a hotel clerk at the Lafayette Hotel. He later worked for Higgins Industries. Mr. Boyle was murdered at Biloxi, Mississippi on November 5, 1950 at 438 Porter Avenue in Biloxi, Mississippi. At the time, he was performing repairs in an old house at 438 Porter Avenue, which was owned by his aunt, also a resident of the Crescent City.

The corporal remains of Mr. T.J. Boyle Jr. were interred in the Biloxi Cemetery where his parents rest in eternal peace. His wife expired at New Orleans on January 19, 1973. Her remains were entombed in the Seifer tomb in the Greenwood Cemetery at New Orleans.

Mr. Ratcliffe was tried in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi in early March 1951. He was found guilty of Mr. Boyle’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Dale Morris (1924-2000?), a 31-year old cowpuncher and rodeo rider from Whitehorse, Montana was arrested in New Orleans in early December 1955. Morris was accused of the murder of Charles W. Flink (1916-1955), a novelty store proprietor at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on November 22, 1955, when Cowboy Morris was interupted by Flink while stealing a car tire.

1961In early 1961, Dale Morris failed to return to Parchman prison in Mississippi. He had gone with a prison official to Fort Smith, Arkansas to acquire horses. In early May 1961, Morris was captured in Oklahoma after a gun battle with Detective Jack Merchant.(The Daily Herald, May 5, 1961, p. 1)

Audrey Ryan Surian (1922-1957) was allegedly stabbed to death by Nicholas J.A. Surian (1915-2004), her spouse, on January 24th at their home at 123 Kuhn Street in east Biloxi. Surian's trial ended in a mistrial on June 21, but he pleaded guilty of manslaughter in early July. Judge Leslie Baltar Grant sentenced Mr. Surian to four years in the State penitentiary for his crime.(The Daily Herald, January 26, 1957, p. 2 and July 4, 1957, p. 6, The Times-Picayune, June 21, 1957, p. 53 and The States-Times, July 5, 1957, p. 8-B)

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, "Surian charges with murder in death of wife", January 26, 1957.

Aden S. Bellew (1907-1981) was accused of murdering Harry Jacob Geiss Jr. (1924-1957), a resident of Mississippi City, at the east Biloxi Oak Street apartment of Mrs. Ruth Johnson (b. 1929) on February 13, 1957. The murder weapon was a .38 caliber revolver and Mr. Geiss was shot five times while in the bathroom of Mrs. Johnson. The corporal remains of Harry J. Geiss Jr. were interred in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at San Antonio, Texas.

Aden S. Bellew expired at Saucier, Mississippi on March 19, 1981. His corporal remains were interred in the New Fayard Church Cemetery at Latimer, Jackson County, Mississippi.

William Bartell Patey (1905-1960) was born in Kansas to Arthur R. Patey, a native of England, and Illinois born, Anne F. Patey (1885-1975). William married Mary ?, a Georgian, and they were the parents of at least two children born in Florida, William B. Patey Jr. (b. 1928) and Brian Reid Patey (1930-1981) m. Linda Sue Cobb.

C.D. Irwin (b. 1901), a pipe fitter of Race Track Road at North Biloxi, shot and killed on April 16, 1960, Easter Eve, William Bartell Patey (1905-1960), his step-son, and Miss Miriam DeLoache (b. 1921), a native of Durant, Mississippi and Patey's girl friend, who was employed a KAFB. The two victims were shot with a .38 caliber revolver at close range at Patey's home on Happy Landing Lane, 218 Race Track Road, North Biloxi. Irwin lived next door and admitted to lawmen that he shot the couple while they sat on the sofa. He was taken to the Harrison County jail.

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, 'Biloxian is held for double murder', April 18, 1960, p. 1.

The Times-Picayune, '2 are fatally shot in Biloxi', April 17, 1960, p. 1.

____________________________________________

1964

Eleuterius-Zahra Murders

May Darnell Eleuterius (1946-1964) of 500 Oak Street at Biloxi and Joseph L. Zahra (1943-1964), USAF serviceman KAFB and from Livonia, Michigan, were shot and killed at Ocean Springs, Mississippi on July 6th.(The Daily Herald, July 7, 1964, p. 1 and July 8, 1964, p. 2)

In November 1964, Sheriff Cecil Byrd of Jackson County, Mississippi and Police Chief W.T. Broome of Ocean Springs went to Lakeland, Florida to interrogate an ex-convict from Alabama about the Eleuterius-Zahra slayings in a roadside park at Ocean Springs. He was cleared of any involvement in the July 1964 murders.(The Times-Picayune, November 4, 1964, p. 5)

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald,“Couple found murdered at Ocean Springs”, July 7, 1964.

On December 16, 1967, Harry Bennett (1902-1967), Biloxi gambler and bookmaker, was murdered gang land style outside of his apartment. Harold Donald Diddlemeyer (1943-2007), an escapee from the Mississippi State Penitentiary, was accused of his murder and in 1969 asked the court to take a lie detector test to prove his innocence of this crime. Diddlemeyer was convicted and died at Parchman Prison on 15 June, 2007.(The Daily Herald, December 16, 1967. p. 1, April 1, 1969, p. 2; The Sun Herald, March 19, 1995, p. A-1 and June 17, 2007.)

On February 16, 1972, Cornelius Bolding Kemp (1916-1972), operator of Kemp Cab Service, was strangled and robbed in his taxi cab while parked at Howard Memorial Hospital in Biloxi. The suspect was described as a Negro man about 6 feet tall, of medium build and weighing about 185 pounds. No further information.

On December 2, 1974, Art Weinberger, the proprietor of Art's Levis on Howard Avenue, was distracted by John 'Willie' Durengo Reddix (b. 1954) in order that Larry 'Catfish' Jones (b. 1954), Reddix's companion on that day, could sneak up behind Mr. Weinberger and kill him by striking him repeatedly with blows from a wrench. Reddix and Jones then took money and clothes from the Weinberger store and fled. Larry Jones was convicted of murder and incarcerated at Parchman Prison and of March 2012 is continuing to serve a life sentence for this heinous crime.(The Daily Herald, December 3, 1974, p.A 2, December 4, 1974, p. A2 and December 16, 1974, p. 2)

During WWI, both Art and William Weinberger served in the US Army. Art was a clerk at Butler Brothers in Chicago before joining the US Army in September 1917. He was discharged January 13, 1919. By 1920, Art and William Weinberger were domiciled at Savannah, Georgia where they retail clothes salesmen at Savannah, Georgia. By 1930, both men were in Chicago where Art was head of the household with his mother, and brothers, William, Emil, George and George A. Weinberger Jr. residing at 207 Winthrop. Art listed his occupation as an 'out of business merchant'.(1920 Chatham Co., Georgia Federal Censusu T625_241, p. 2A, ED 74 and 1930 Cook Co., Illinois Federal Census R494, p. 2A, ED 1881)

Biloxi

In September 1949, Art and Amy Weinberger acquired Lot 5-Block 2 of the Bienville Subdivision on Biloxi's West Beach Boulevard from L.C. Hicks. He later moved to the Gulf Towers near the Buena Vista Hotel.(Harrison Co., Mississippi Chancery Court Land deed Bk. 325, p. 24)

SW/C West Howard Avenue and Reynoir Street

In August 1952, Art Weinberger took a sub-lease from Genevieve Lynn Dyer on a building situated on the SW/C of West Howard Avenue and Reynoir Street. The consideration was $4000 and Mrs. Victor B. Pringle was the lessor. Here he, Ronald Weinberger, his stepson?, and William Weinberger (1893-1976), his brother, operated and managed several businesses: Art's Army Store, William's Sportswear, Allan's Mens Store, and the Howard Clothing Company.(Harrison Co., Mississippi Chancery Court Land Deed Bk. 357, pp. 418-419).

The corporal remains of Mr. Weinberger were interred in the Southern Memorial Park at Biloxi. Mississippi. He was survivied by Amy Rush Weinberger, Mrs. Donald Friedman, a daughter, of Chicago, and Ronald Winters, a son, at Atlanta, Georgia. Art had been a charter member of SunKist Country Club, a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner and has formerly owned chain stores in the Midwest.(The Daily Herald, December 3, 1974, p. A2)

Edwina de Gruy Marter (1940-1976) wife of Charles W. Marter, vp of the Gulf National Bank at Gulfport, was kidnapped and murdered by Richard Gerald Jordan (1946-2012+) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi on January 1976. Mr. Marter had paid a $25,000 ransom for his wife's release, but she found murdered on January 14th. Mrs. Marter was the mother of two sons: Kevin Paul Marter and Eric Charles Marter. Her corporal remains were interred in St. Louis No. 3 Cemetery at New Orleans.(The Times-Picayune, January 15, 1976, p. 14)

Richard Gerald Jordan appealed is conviction and it was denied by US District Judge Harold Cox in March 1981. Judge Cox wrote that the Court gave the petitioner a fair trial and his death sentence was proper in accordance with all the requirements of the Constitution through the application of the Mississippi death penalty statue.(The Daily Herald, March 23, 1981, p. A-2)

Mr. Jordan was incarcerated in Parchman on March 2, 1977 and has been serving a life sentence since that time.(May 2014)

Robert Edward Hansen Jr. (1946-1977), age 30 years and a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was shot in the upper right chest with a .22 caliber rifle. He was transported to the Gulf Coast Community Hospital by Amserv and proounced DOA. Hansen lived at 376 Hopkins Boulevard and was the son of Robert E. Hansen Sr. of Council Bluffs, Iowa and Mrs. Lorraine Garber of Salem, Oregon. Gregory Sterling Achee, attached to the 3411 Student Squadron at Keesler AFB was charged with the murder which occurred at the McDonald Square Apartments, 415 McDonald Avenue in Apartment No. 203. He was held in the Harrison County Jail in Biloxi without benefit of bond. Mr. Hansen was survivied by his wife, Patti Hansen of Biloxi; his parents; and two siblings, John Hansen, and a sister, Mrs. Paula Garden, of Salem, Oregon. The body was sent to Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home in Biloxi.(The Daily Herald, February 13, 1977, p. A-2.

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, 'Keesler student held in slaying of Biloxian', February 13, 1977, p. A-2.

________________________________________________________

1981

Josie Lee Jones

Greg Jones (b. 1954) of Biloxi was arrested and charged with murder in January for the shooting death of Josie Lee Jones, age 62 years, whose body was found in the living room of her home at 629 Lameuse Streeet. She had been shot three times with a .22 caliber weapon in the back, neck and head. Mr. Jones was found shortly after the crime at Beaumont, Mississippi and was held at New Augusta until brought to the Biloxi jail. The motive for the crime was robbery and attempted sexual assault. A pistol, stereo unit and other items were found in the vehicle of Mr. Jones when he was arrested.(The Daily Herald, January 22, 1981, p. A-2)

Dr. John R. Broussard (1925-1983), an Ocean Springs veterinarian, was killed by Jerry L. Davis on May 6, 1983 while attending the Jazz and Heritage Festival at New Orleans. Dr. Broussard and spouse, Betty Broussard, were preparing to camp at a site on the Chef Menteur Highway in east New orleans when robbed by Mr. Davis. Davis was convicted of 1st degree murder and sentenced to life for his crime.(The Daily Herald, February 1, 1984, p. A-1)

REFERENCES:

The Daily Herald, 'Davis found guilty', February 1, 1984, p. A-1.

__________________________________________________________________

1987

Sherry Murders

Vincent Jerome Sherry Jr.

Vincent Jerome Sherry Jr. (1929-1987), age 58 years, 203 Hickory Hills Circle, was found dead with Margaret Joyce Smith Sherry (1929-1987), his spouse, on Wednesday, September 16, 1987, at their Biloxi home.

Vincent was the son of Vincent J. Sherry Sr. (1899-1970), a commercial salesman, and Cleo Hunt Sherry (1897-1980). On November 22, 1950, he married Margaret Joyce Smith (1929-1987), a native of Mooringsport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana and the daughter of Bernie W. Smith Sr. and Rubye Dyer Smith. She was the youngest of her two siblings: Bernie W. Smith Jr. (b. 1925) and Charles Raymond "Red' Smith (1926-2009). Margaret was reared in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Vincent J. Sherry Jr. held degrees from Western Kentucky College, Middle Tennessee State College, and the University of Southern Mississippi. His law degree was earned at the George Washington University Law School. In 1986, Vincent was appointed by Mississippi Governor William A. Allain (1928-2013) in to serve as interim 2nd Circuit Court Judge.

Judge Sherry served in the USAF from November 1951 until November 1971. Colonel Sherry was an intelligence officer for seven years and judge advocate for thirteen years.

Vincent J. Sherry Jr. had been employed with the Biloxi law firm of Page, Mannino, & Peresich. He had taught political science and criminal justice at the University of Southern Mississippi for eight years.

Margaret Smith Sherry was active in politics on the Coast. She was elected to the Biloxi City Council from Ward VII; served as District V representative to the Harrison County Republican Executive Committee. Mrs. Sherry ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Biloxi in 1985.

The Sun Herald, "Eldest [Lynne S. Sposito] will not rest until nightmare is over", December 16, 1990, p. A1.

The Sun Herald, "The Sherry Murders: 20 years later-Still stunning-Biloxi's most notorious murders revisited", September 9, 2007, p. A 1.
The Sun Herald, "FBI vet won 10-year fight", September 9, 2007, p. A 1.
The Sun Herald, "The Sherry Murders: 20 years later-Not the best sort of witness", September 10, 2007, p. A 1.
The Sun Herald, "House where Sherry's were murdered will be torn down", September 26, 2010, p. A 1.

Billie Dianne Edgerton Gollott (1950-1989) was allegedly murdered by Francis Ray Gollott (1943-1995), her husband, on May 10, 1989. The affair was deemed a domestic dispute by police. Gollott was jailed and bond set at $500,000 by John McAdams, Justice Court Judge.(The Sun Herald, May 12, 1989, p. B-1)

On January 8, 1990, Sylvester Williams (1959-1990) was shot and killed by a former girl friend, Deborah Joann Smith. When Mr. Williams attempted to break into her bedroom in which she and her three children had barricaded themselves, Mrs. Smith fired a .25 caliber pistol striking Williams in the forehead resulting in his demise.(The Sun Herald, January 10, 1990, p. A-1)

Annie Bell Denson Uchello (1925-2004), native of Stone County, Mississipp was assaulted in her home and expired from her injuries at Biloxi on February 29, 2004. She had been the wife of James Adron Denson (1921-2000) and lived at Mantachie, Itawamba County, Mississippi. Annie came to Biloxi in 1980 and married Salvador 'Sam' F. Uchello Jr. (1907-1996) in Harrison County, Mississippi on January 24, 1984. He passed on February 22, 1996.(The Sun Herald, March 2, 2004, p. A1 and p. A5 and Harrison Co., Mississipi 2nd JD Circuit Court MRB 27, p. 382)

A 28-year-old Mississippi State senior is being without bond on a capital murder charge in the Friday slaying of his roommate, also student at the university. Bobby Batiste, age 28, of 250 Sinai Road, Preston, was arrested by Oktibbeha County sheriff's deputies early Friday evening in the death of Andreas K. Galanis (1979-2008), age 28, of Biloxi and a native of Athens, Greece. According to the MSU campus directory, Galanis was a sophomore enrolled in the College of Business and Industry, while Batiste is a senior enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Sheriff Dolph Bryan said deputies discovered Galanis' body shortly after 6 p.m. Friday at Apartment 5108 at the 21 Apartments complex at 1219 Oktoc Road just south of the MSU campus. Deputies had been dispatched to the apartment between 5:30 and 5:50 p.m. Friday after members of Galanis' family in Biloxi contacted the Sheriff's Department when he failed to catch a Florida-bound flight from the Biloxi airport at 4 p.m. Friday. Initially told upon arrival that Galanis had left to catch the flight, deputies were let into the apartment by a roommate - who was identified as Batiste - to further investigate the welfare concern reported by Galanis' family. Upon entering the apartment, the deputies discovered large amounts of blood and then found Galanis' body with "very visible wounds" in a vacant suite of the apartment, Bryan said.

Bryan would not specify the nature of the wounds nor their location on Galanis body, nor would he comment on whether there were visible signs a struggle had taken place inside the apartment or what type of weapon - if any - was used to kill Galanis. Galanis' body was taken to Jackson Friday night was scheduled to undergo an autopsy some time Saturday to determine the exact cause of death, Bryan said Batiste was immediately taken into custody and questioned later Friday night. Bryan would not comment on whether Batiste gave a statement to deputies confessing to Galanis' death.

Under state law, a capital murder charge is filed against a suspect if the slaying was committed while in the act of another felony crime. Bryan said the other crime involved in Galanis' slaying was robbery, but would not comment over the specific circumstances or events of the robbery. Bryan also would not comment on whether Galanis and Batiste had been involved in any type of ongoing conflict.No additional suspects are currently being sought in connection with Galanis' death, though the investigation is continuing, Bryan said. Detectives with the Starkville Police Department and MSU Police Department are assisting sheriff's deputies with the investigation, Bryan said. "We still have an awful lot of investigative work to do, but I feel we have a really good grasp on this case at this time," Bryan said Saturday. "I don't think we'll have any more surprises." Bryan did say that anyone who might have additional information related to the investigation of Galanis' death is encouraged to call the Sheriff's Department at 323-2421 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151.

A statement from officials with Ambling Management Co. of Atlanta, Ga., which operates 21 Apartments, said that the complex management team planned to have a private security company patrolling the property and attending the main security gate on Saturday. The managers were also working with MSU administrator to arrange a "grief counselor onsite at our community to help residents during this trying time." "As with any incident of this nature, our immediate thoughts and prayers are with the victim and their family. It saddens us to know that a young person needlessly lost their life and we can't imagine the pain felt by their loved one," the statement from Ambling officials said. At the time Ambling officials released their statement Saturday, sheriff's deputies were still working to complete the gathering of evidence at the apartment complex. "The sheriff will not release any details of what occurred while the investigation is under way, but has advised us that they have made an arrest and that this was an isolated, contained event and that there is no threat of imminent danger to other residents and that there was not a firearm involved," the Ambling statement said.